Well-digging apparatus.



PATENTED MAY 10,1904.

T.E. LAW. WELL D IGGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION `FILED JULY 18, 1903.

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` T. E. LAW. WELL DIGGING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 18. 1903.

PATENTED MAY l0, 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented May IO, 1904.

THOMAS ELMAR LAIV, OF KINGSTON, MISSOURI.

WELL-DIGGING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 759,723, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed July 18,1903. Serial No. 166,099. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS ELMAR LAW, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Kingston, in the county ot Caldwell and State of Missouri, have made certain new and useful Improvements in fell-Digging Apparatus, of

' which the following is a specih'cation.

My invention is an improvement in welldigging apparatus; and it consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view, and Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation, ol.I an apparatus embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is a detail top plan View illustrating' a turning device'used in drilling wells. Fig. 4 is a detail side elevation, partly broken away, ot' a drill used in the drilling operation. Fig. 5 is a detail view illustrating the connection be tween the guide and the base-i`rame- Fig. G is a detail plan view of the coupling devices between the two shaft-sections. Fig.` 7 is a sectional elevation thereof. Fig. 8 is a detail sectional View on about line :n fr of Fig. 7 looking to the right, and Fig. 9 is a section on the same line oi' Fig. 7 looking' to the leit.

In the accompanying' illustration, A illustrates a tube at the upper end of the well and projecting above the ground suliiciently high `to receive the bearing-block B on the inner end of the base or swinging frame O, as shown in Figs'. l and 2. This base-frame has at its inner end a block B, which journals on the upwardly-projecting end of the tube A, and at the outer end of the said frame O is supported l the wheel D, which is l[ixed to the shaft-section E, which latter is journaled in the bearings O on the frame C, as shown in Figs. l and 2. As the frame O revolves around the tube A the wheel D will be revolved by its bearing on the ground and will revolve the shaft E, which in turn will revolve the head F at the inner end ot' the said shaft E. This head F is in the iorm oi' a bar or arm extending at a right angle to the shaift-seetion E and arranged to engage with a latch device on a head G at the inner end of the shaft-section H, which latter is journaled in bearings C2 and O3 on the frame O, as will be understood from Fig. 2 of the drawings. The head Gr on the end of the shaftseetion H is provided with a pin I, which Vis movable through an opening z/ in the head (nl and is adapted when in the position shown in full lines, Fig. 6, to project beyond the head (nr into position for engagement by the head F on the shaft-section E as the said shaft E and its head F are revolved. The pin I is pressed normally to the position shown in Fig. 6 by the spring J, secured at one end J to the head (ir and carrying the pin I near its outerend and projecting beyond the said pin .I suiiiciently toengage with a tripping device supported on the frame, such tripping device being so located as to release the pin I at intervals from engagement with the head F and permit the shaftsection H to turn quickly back under any applied force from the point where it engages with the said head F until its pin I, having been readj usted by the spring J, will again engage with the head F in the operation et' the apparatus. In the construction shown the tripping device includes the lever I( ivoted at K at one end and eno'ae'ed at its other end with a rack liz, by which it may beheld in any desired adjustment. This lever K when adjusted tothe position shown` in 'Full lines, Fig. 6, will be out oit' the path of the extension y' of the spring' .I and will not operate upon the said spring, so that in such operation the shaft-section E will tend to give an uninterrupted revolution to the shaft-section H. IT', however, the lever .K be adjusted from the :full-line position shown in Fig. 6 to the position indicated by dotted lines in said ligure, it will be brouO-ht into' the path of the extension ,7' oi' the spring J, so that as the shaft-section H is revolved its spring J will be engaged by the lever K and will be operated to release the pin I from engagement with the head F of the shaft-sectionE, so the shaft-section H may be quickly turned back by the stress on the drill-rope until its latch-pin I will again engage wit the head F of the shaft-section E. By this construction when I employ the double-arm ed head F (shown in Fig. 6) the shaft-section I-I will be released by the lever K twice during each revolution of thefshaft E, so that I am able to get a rapid up-and-down movement oi' the drill when the parts are arranged as shown IOO in Fig. Q to operate upon a reciprocating drilling device. The shaft-section H is provided with a drum M, on which winds the drill-rope N, the latter passing through an eye M on the drum, so it will not wind off the drum, but may be operated to give a rapid reciprocation to the drill by the use of the mechanism before described. From the guide M/ the rope N passes upward over a guide O' at the top of the guide-frame O, which latter may be-pivoted or otherwise suitably connected at O2 to the swinging frame C, as will be understood from Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings, this pivot being effected by suitable bolts, so the frame O can be readily removed and replaced whenever desired. The drillrope N extends from the guide O downwardly and connects with the drilling devices, which may be of any suitable construction.

In operation it will be seen that as the swinging frame C is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. l an oscillatory movement will be given to the shaft-section H by means of the coupling between it and the shaft-section E before described, and the drill devices will be rapidly reciprocated.

It may be desirable in some instances to ease the dropping of the drill devices, and to this end I may employ a brake which is shown as a bar P, having a flexible connection at P at one end with the frame C and bearing between its ends upon a flange Q at one end of the drum on the shaft-section H, the free end of the lever P being arranged to be depressed by hand or otherwise, as may be desired, to secure the braking-pressure upon the Hangs Q in the operation of the device. This brakebar is shown in Figs. 1 and 5 of the drawings.

Where it is desired to bore instead of drilling the well, I may employ a drill, such as kshown at R in Fig. 4, and provide it with a square head R to receive one end of the wrench-bar S, whose other end may be carried through the eye Tof the frame C, so the drill R will be turned as the swing-frame C moves around the well.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus substantially as herein described the combination of a drill-frame, an

elevated guide-frame thereon and provided at its upper end with a guide for a drill-rope, a drill-rope, an inner shaft-section having a drum receiving the drill-rope and provided at its outer end with a head, a latch-pin movable through said head, a spring for actuating' said latch-pin and having an extension for engagement by a shifting device, a shifting or releasing bar carried by the framing and adjustable into position for engagement by a pinactuating spring, an outer shaft-section having at its inner end a head for engagement by the latch-pin on the head of the other shaftsection, and a traction wheel on the outer shaft-section substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a mechanism substantiall y as described the combination of a shaft-section having a head, a latch-pin movable relatively to the said head, a spring for actuating said latch-pin and a projection in connection therewith for engagement by shifting devices, shifting devices movable into and outof the path of said projection, and a cooperating'shaft-section having a head to engage with the latch-pin of the other section, and operating means substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a shaft-section E having a head F and a shaft-section H having a head Gr, a pin I movable through the head Gr into position for engagement by the head F, a spring for pressing said pin normally into position for engagement by the head F and a projection in connection with said pin forengagement by a shifting device and a shifting device for engagement by said projection substantially as set forth.

4. The combination of aV shaft-section havingl a head at its end and a cooperating shaftsection having a movable latch-pin for engagement by said head, a shifting device for moving said pin out of the path of the head, said shifting device being pivoted at one end whereby it may be moved into and out of position to release the pin, and a rack for securing said shifter in its different positions, substantially as set forth.

THOMAS ELMAR LAWV.

l/Vitnesses:

IVILLIAM MCAFEE, vW. B. DUNN. 

